Wiring
by SaiyanOjo
Summary: Its a Vegeta and Bulma get together (I know you have read a thousand of them) but I want my go. This story just isn't about how they got together but about how they grew to love each other which is how they came together and through the years and challenges; how they grew to love each other
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or Vegeta or Bulma. Coz if I did the series would have had a lot more of them in it

Prologue

He's back. I can't believe it. The conflicting thoughts and emotions cause my head to ache. To ease the feeling I run my fingers through the blue puffy thing that is my latest hairstyle.. Better do something about it soon I don't really like it. I giggle to myself for thinking about my stupid hair right now. When the man I am not supposed to be thinking about is naked right now with only the Shower screen between us.

"You can leave now!" He barks at me in that rough voice. I blush all the way to my toes I only just realize that I have been lingering. I leave the clothes I have for him and walk out closing the door behind me a little more forcefully then necessary.

"What is he even doing back here?" I think to myself. I mean I know he was about to run out of fuel but surely there is somewhere in the universe that would be able to figure out a way to synthesize the bio fuel that the ship runs on. I mean it's not that complicated! Anyone with interstellar travel technology could easily figure it out. You didn't have to be a genius like me for that kind of basic stuff. There was only one answer: Goku

"I can't believe he didn't find him!" Relief and confusion wash over me. Am I relieved because that arrogant 'Prince' didn't get to hurt Goku or because Goku didn't get to hurt Vegeta? "Don't be stupid!" I chide myself. That creep would deserve everything he got! I only invited him here in the first place because he was homeless and I didn't want him terrorizing the unsuspecting public. Although since he left a few months ago in a ship he stole from us I might add; I have thought about him.

Thoughts of him have not only affected my waking hours but my dreams as well. My stupid subconscious decides to manifest itself in a swirl of fear, desire and the green sky of Namek. He is like a mystery I want to solve. My inner scientist just wants to pull him apart, check out his wiring and figure out what holds him all together underneath that amazing physique. I admit to myself that I am slightly attracted to him. Well duh! Who wouldn't be? He is an extremely well put together individual; all I am a woman with a certain appreciation (a completely healthy one) for the male form. The image of Vegeta's naked and wet silhouette through the shower screen causes my heart to hammer in my chest and my palms to sweat.

"Oh crap! I'm in trouble."


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. (But I like to pretend)

Chapter 1

It was nearly midnight; Bulma glanced at her watch for what felt like the thousandth time that night. It was way past his usual finishing time. He would be in there from the time he ate breakfast till just after most of the household were in bed. She figured he preferred it that way, made it easy for him to avoid everyone but tonight felt different. She wasn't sure how many nights in a row now she had stood on her balcony waiting for him to emerge; five maybe, six? Ever since Goku had returned everything had changed, everything felt different. It was all wrong somehow, it was just like waiting for the scare in a bad horror movie where the suspense was worse than the actual scare itself. Knowing the threat was out there already, hidden and just biding its time caused a shiver to travel down her spine and the small hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. It was worse than the year of waiting for the Saiyans because what was coming for them now had not one but two Super Saiyans scared. Bulma lit her third cigarette for the evening. The stars were bright tonight and the slight breeze caught her sheer white curtains and had caused them to billow around the open French doors that led from her decadent bedroom to her balcony. The grey and white swirl of her curtains and cigarette smoke had an ominous beauty to it. It was hard for her to imagine anything that would be too much for Goku to handle now. This was the guy that had defeated the Saiyans and the terrifying Freeza. Bulma knew this was bad, really bad. The rational part of her brain wanted to deny everything; she wanted to believe that the strange young man that had just turned up out of nowhere and had literally carved Freeza up was just some weird Saiyan outcast with delusions of grandeur and a few screws loose. But she couldn't believe it, and she didn't understand why.

'Why do I feel like I know him? Like we can trust him?' Bulma thought to herself, while emitting another puff of cigarette smoke. 'If anything all my experience has taught me it's that I should definitely not trust people straight off the bat! I mean I once believed some creepy pink aliens were Namekians trying to help me who then subsequently tried to kill me!' She smiled at the memory. This boy was different and she knew it. Ever since he arrived she had noticed how the information he brought with him had affected those around her and especially the effect on one person in her life in particular. Bulma knew it wasn't the threat of the Androids that had gotten to Vegeta. In her opinion he considered the prophesized impending destruction of the Androids a meaningless hindrance and distraction. It wasn't the news the boy brought with him but the boy himself. Bulma wouldn't soon forget that seething look of derision he shot at the young man after he had witnessed his transformation and subsequent domination of the Colds and their followers. It was the same look she had seen him give Goku.

"Geez…. You would think he would be happy to see another Saiyan." Bulma said aloud. "Great! Now I'm talking to myself." But she knew the reason why he wasn't happy. All he saw when he saw that boy transform was another person in his way. Another who had succeeded where he had failed, she surprised herself with her compassion for him under the circumstances. That is why she stood on her balcony and watched. Ever since that boy's arrival and Goku's return Vegeta had been pushing himself further and further, training with more intensity. Once during a weak moment of curiosity in her lab she had hacked into his capsules security system cameras and watched him train. What she had seen had scared her. The Gravity meter had read two hundred and fifty times the earth's normal gravity and he was battling her father's combat training bots with speed and power so incredible she couldn't believe his body hadn't split in two.

Bulma hadn't watched him again, she didn't want to; she couldn't bear to see him like that again. He was so intense, breathing ragged and body sweating, beautiful and terrifying. She knew she had grossly invaded his privacy and had witnessed something so intimately personal she felt ashamed and dirty afterwards. Bulma didn't even want to contemplate what he would do or say to her ever found out but she had a feeling she wouldn't have a long time to suffer because she would be dead very quickly. So she waited every night for him to finish to make sure he was okay, to watch him see himself back to the house, where she knew he would then head straight to the kitchen to devour everything in sight, then retire to his room only to repeat the process the next day, every night the same, except this one.

His body was exhausted, lungs determinedly sucked oxygen from the air each breath labored and painful. All muscles strained and wracked with spasms and yet he continued. Vegeta's need to continue and push further was primal, the weight of his nearly extinct royal line rested heavily on his shoulders it was what pushed him. It was everything to him.

'There is nothing that focusses one more than seeing your goals and destiny laid so clear before you, to be the best, to reach legendary status to surpass that third class clown Kakarott and that boy Saiyan imposter.' Vegeta's thoughts swirled through his mind in an exhausted haze. The boy's arrival had angered him to a level he didn't believe even he was capable of. The fact that Kakarott shunned his Saiyan roots and culture so completely to even refuse his Saiyan name and answer to that ridiculous earth given name was disgrace enough, but to see that boy, who could be no more than twenty years of age transform into the Legendary status of Super Saiyan before his eyes caused a rush of shame and outrage so intense it took all his will power not to blast him to the next dimension. It was sheer curiosity that stayed Vegeta's hand that day.

The unfairness and shame of it all caused bile to rise in his throat. They all disgusted him. Everyone on this planet was weak. Not only physically but in the way they allowed their emotions and feelings to distract them and cloud their judgment was abhorrent. In was disturbingly comforting to know that any such petty emotions and attachments had blown up along with the planet Vegeta. His planet nothing but dust his father along with it and his mother long before the both of them. He could still remember his father's crushing blow after he had delivered the news of her death. His father was right to strike him down; the way he bawled and yowled for his mother was a disgraceful way for the prince of all Saiyans to behave no matter how few his years. That lesson was the first of many that taught him what weakness was and this planet was abundant with it and it corrupted and infected those exposed. It was lucky for them he found them so useful their training facilities were exactly what he needed to surpass Kakarott and that boy; he was housed in comfort and fed better than he had been in years. The training bots so advanced they could absorb his energy attacks and rebound his own energy back at him. Vegeta was currently surrounded by five of them dodging their counter attacks at two hundred and eighty times normal gravity. Vegeta was tiring and he knew it. It infuriated him even further as he his clenched his left fist and raised his right hand and fired. The energy blast he shot at the Bot in front of his was more then it could withstand. The Bot crashed to the ground in a clamor of smoke and sparks. A slight smirk appeared across his noble features.

'That was extremely satisfying' he thought, chuckling slightly and his mood lifted. He realized his distraction too late. One of the bots had absorbed some residual energy in capsule from his last attack as it circled around him humming with newly absorbed power and fired a blast that caught Vegeta directly to the back of his head. There was no time to react, there was no time even think, and then all Vegeta knew was the blinding agony of the impact. He collapsed to his knees with the overwhelming pain of the direct hit then silently and completely fell into the blessed oblivion of unconsciousness.

It was clear when he awoke that many hours must have passed, his body had recovered enough it could withstand the strain of consciousness however that didn't stop the pounding of his head and the unbearable thirst and hunger due to his many hours without sustenance. During his years of service to Freeza he was no stranger to the gnawing pain of hunger, though during his time at capsule corp. he found he had become quite used to the comfort and advantage of training with a full stomach. With a surprising amount of difficulty Vegeta dragged himself in to a sitting position and then stood on extremely unstable legs. He needed food, to bathe and sleep then he would find himself ready to resume in the morning. He walked with ragged difficulty down the capsule's entrance ramp and across the grounds to the main house. Vegeta had never before noticed how far his training capsule was from the main building.

"I should demand my own facilities inside the capsule from the loud blue haired woman." He grumbled to himself. Bulma watched Vegeta drag his exhausted frame from the capsule and across the lawn, alarm and fear arrested her whole body.

'Oh my God!' she exclaimed over her fourth cigarette. 'What has he done to himself now?' She forcefully extinguished the remaining embers on the butt and raced to meet him down stairs. Her elevators had never seemed to move this slowly to her before. When she finally heard the telltale ping and saw the doors open at a snail's she raced through the hall heading towards to back door which lead to outside through the kitchen. It was the quickest way outside and she could meet him on the lawn and help him to their infirmary. Her shock at finding him already in the kitchen rummaging through the refrigerator was written all over her face.

"Vegeta, you're okay!" said Bulma as the relief wash over her. The feeling hit her so intensely she completely neglected to keep the well regulated indifference she had until then been using when speaking to him from her voice.

"What do you mean woman?" barked Vegeta, shooting her a confused stare over the fridge door.

'Oh crap!' thought Bulma, feeling very stupid. She would have to come clean and admit she was watching him! How mortifying! Well she didn't need to _completely_ come clean.

"I was on my balcony enjoying a nice late night cigarette, minding my own business when I saw you stumbling from the capsule looking an inch away from death." she shot at him with a grin on her face. "And naturally I came to see whether I needed to start making burial arrangements."

"As if those pathetic robots could end the prince of all Saiyans!" Vegeta spat back at her as he continued to search the fridge. His brow then furrowed in pain and he had to use the fridge to steady himself.

"Sit down Vegeta," said Bulma "You're clearly exhausted." She noted how his breath was ragged and this body was drenched in sweat and he was shivering.

"I'm starving!" he grunted through the pain.

"Sit down and I'll make you something, then you need sleep."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Was his reply, although Bulma noted with a smile on her face how he abruptly stood and planted his compact but heavy frame on a chair at the kitchen table. "Fine! Cook! And it had better be palatable."

Bulma silently walked over to the fridge and pulled out everything she would need for chicken pasta. In all honestly it was the only thing she really knew how to make. But it tasted good and was quick; she wanted to be away from this uncomfortable situation as quickly and with as little blood spilled as possible. She cooked and Vegeta watched her in companionable silence. She caught herself stealing sly glances in his direction, he was sitting in his usual way back straight and arms crossed. He was still in his tattered training suit and was covered in perspiration and yet he still looked gorgeous.

'Why is he watching me like that?' she thought. 'He's probably making sure I don't poison him.' A giggle escaped her as she put his meal on a serving platter they usually used to present a whole Christmas dinner.

"What are you laughing about?" he asked her with his brows furrowed and his expression dark.

"Poisoning you." replied Bulma with a grin as placed the meal in front of him. Her only reply was a grunt before he started to devour his meal with gusto without so much as a glace in her direction.

"Goodnight Vegeta, please rest." said Bulma as she turned and left the kitchen with her heart thumping in her chest. She was worried he would yell at her again for her presumption so she wanted to make a quick retreat.

'Wow.' thought Bulma as she collapsed exhausted into her luxurious bed covers. 'That was our first encounter that didn't end in an argument.' The feeling it created was pleasing although she didn't really know why. The whole of her rational personality told her she should detest the man. And yet night after night she watched him leave the capsule to make sure he was fine. And she knew the reason why, it was slowly dawning on her that she was beginning to care for him, she knew there was an attraction (on her side at least) and she thought for the first time tonight that she was beginning to make some progress in her desire to figure him out and see if he was even capable of friendship. She was relieved that no harsh words were directed at her as she left the kitchen. 'Until tomorrow.' she thought with a sigh, and then slowly drifted off to sleep with dreams of a certain Saiyan prince invading her mind. What she hadn't seen as she left the kitchen was the confused yet softened stare Vegeta aimed at the back of her retreating form.

_A/N: There's my first chapter guys! Please, Please review and tell me what you thought of it and the prologue. _


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I Do not own DBZ or these amazing characters for that we can thank the brilliant Akira Toriyama

Chapter 2

Bulma had been working for hours now. She had been putting in crazy hours for the last couple of weeks. It was a great distraction from her traitorous thoughts. She sighed as she placed her latest bungled project in her lab desk draw, another broken capsule prototype. For the last few months Bulma had been attempting to design a new capsule with multiple storage capacities and it had been a while since she had even left her lab. She wasn't getting anywhere so she just laid her head down on her desk as she contemplated the total disaster that had been the last few weeks. All the progress she had been making, gone. She thought that things were going well between them over the past few months. Of course he was never even remotely friendly or even polite, but since that night she had cooked for him he seemed to tolerate her presence, much more so than anyone else's. He was even willing to occasionally answer some of her many questions about him without a sneer. The sight that arrested her when she ran to the lawn after hearing the explosion and saw the smoking wreckage that was once Capsule 3 had caused wave after wave of panic and dread. Her fear that this was it; nearly causing her heart to stop in her chest. Vegeta had gone over the edge; despite all the warnings from herself and even her father he continued his relentless punishment on himself and his body with his training. He didn't die, but he was extremely hurt. The relief she felt was extreme and yet still it had killed her to see his beautiful body so damaged and bruised and he would have a new smattering of scars to accompany the old ones. 'He can just go to Hell then!' thought Bulma as the familiar feeling of anger and hurt washed through her yet again. After the accident she had sat by him day and night till he awoke and he had spurned her kindness with a look and words so vicious she had taken to hiding in her lab to avoid him and everyone else.

"Bulma dear?" an unusually high voice squeaked through the intercom. Bulma winced as her mother's voice interrupted her seething yet sad demeanor.

"Yes, Mother I'm here." replied Bulma "I'm not hungry so you all have lunch without me. I have way too much to do." She let out yet another exasperated sigh. This was the third time today her mother had interrupted her.

"As much as I would love for us all to have a nice family meal together since it's been so long, I know how busy you are my darling." said her mother. "You have someone here who's demanding to speak with you." A small giggle then fizzed through the speakers. "And it doesn't look like he is going to take no for an answer." Bulma's heart leapt with a mixture of fear, dread and anticipation. He was asking for her? After so many weeks of not speaking and barely even seeing her? What the hell did he want after all this time? In the end her curiosity outweighed her trepidation.

"Okay mum, I'll speak to him." said Bulma

"He's waiting for you in the den dear and I hope you two can sort everything out." Bulma's face furrowed in confusion, her mother knew he had upset her?

'Wow, maybe I don't give mum enough credit if she's picked up on the fact that he hurt Me.' thought Bulma as she entered the main building of the house.

Bulma slowly made her way towards the den her thoughts a swirl of confusion, 'He probably just wants me to fix something the idiot has broken and my father must be unavailable.' She thought angrily, she entered the den determined that the arrogant Saiyan jerk was finally going to get the vicious telling off he deserved. The contempt filled way he had told her to leave him alone when he had gone back to training still rankled. 'No one speaks to Bulma Briefs that way!' Bulma couldn't remember the last time she had been this pumped; he was going to pay for making her feel this way; why he had made her feel uncomfortable in her own house! A less than cordial greeting was on the tip of her tongue, although when she caught sight of who was waiting for her caused it to shrivel on her tongue. Someone she had been avoiding with even more determination then Vegeta… Apparently Yamcha had come to visit.

"Hey Bulma, it's been a while." He said in greeting walking slowly over to her. To Bulma it seemed there was something strange about him today, he seemed quite different. He was probably mad at her for working so much.

"Yamcha!" she exclaimed the surprise evident in her voice. "Hey, it's great to see you! How have you been?" Even to her the joyful tone she was using sounded forced. She just hoped he hadn't picked up on it.

"Oh you know around…" he said with a grin. Apparently he had not. "Puar and I have actually been training here every now and again, which you would know if you ever left that lab of yours."

"Yeah well I'm in the process of developing something new so I've been really swamped." was Bulma's reply. "So what's up? What was so important you had to get my mother into bullying me away from work?"

"There is something I need you to do for me. Now please keep the fact that I have never asked you to do anything like this before in mind" the expression that crossed his face at his works instantly arrested Bulma's full attention. Unlike the vast majority of the time Yamcha wasn't kidding around.

"Okay, sure Yamcha I'm listening." said Bulma.

Yamcha took one long steadying breath before he began. "You need to tell Vegeta that he is no longer welcome here and that he has to leave." Bulma could not have been more stunned, whatever she was expecting it certainly was not that.

"What are you talking about?! Why would I do that?" exclaimed Bulma, shaken.

"That stunt he pulled, blowing up the capsule was dangerous and irresponsible in the extreme. If he stays here Bulma you and your family are going to be hurt and I can't allow that!" his face stern and his intensions clear. Vegeta needed to go.

"Yamcha you know I can't do that. He has nowhere else to go and you want be to turn him onto the street." Her shock was beginning to abate and was steadily being replaced by implacable indignation.

"Yes I do. He is a grown man Bulma and I'm sure from what we have seen he is quite capable of looking after himself. Let him take advantage of someone else. Not you. Not someone I care about so much." His expression steeled. He had never been more serious about anything in his life. "Your mother and father both told me that you have been hiding yourself away for weeks, ever since it happened. He has scared you Bulma and I cannot allow that to continue. If he won't leave willingly… I know there isn't much I can do against him… but I will tell Goku and get him to make him leave; preferably permanently. From the look on Yamcha's face Bulma didn't think he meant a change of address.

Bulma couldn't take him like this anymore. The mere thought of what he was suggesting! She couldn't even contemplate it. Silently she raised her hand to silence him before he could continue his tirade. "Yamcha, I know you are worried and that is fine, you're allowed to be and you're allowed to discuss those fears with me. What you aren't allowed to do is turn up to _my_ house and makes demands about what happens to _my_ guests." He opened his mouth to interrupt her so she held her arm out again. "What happened with Capsule 3 was an accident. That is all! He didn't scare me away; I have just been busy on a new prototype."

"Maybe he doesn't scare you, it's irrelevant. The guy is still a danger to all of us and I can't stomach the thought of him being here anymore!" said Yamcha his voice beginning to rise, right along with his anger with her every word in defense of Vegeta.

"Whether you can stomach it or not Yamcha is whats irrelevant! He hasn't done a single thing to hurt any of us since he has been here! He Stays!" Bulma's anger was beginning to reach boiling point. His presumption! Why he was every bit as arrogant as Vegeta if she believed she would take orders from him. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you that we are no longer a couple. You are my friend. Therefore your right to have any say over what I do and who I associate with is null and void!" Yamcha couldn't deny the truth of her statement. They were no longer a couple, hadn't been for months. Ever since his return to life they had both realized that they didn't feel the way they should about each other. Over the years the romantic side to their relationship had evaporated into and easy and loving friendship they both respected.

"I know that! It doesn't mean I want to see you get hurt… in any way." His tone and whole demeanor had suddenly calmed, he knew he wouldn't win this and it ate away at him. Bulma's expression changed at his last statement, she was confused and he didn't blame her. He would never admit to what was going through his mind. Bulma's reaction to Vegeta being hurt had started a gnawing suspicion in his gut that he just couldn't shake, but he would be damned if he admitted it to himself let alone anyone else.

"I know Yamcha, and thank you for caring about me so much but I promise you I'm fine. I barely even see him. Worry less about me and more about what we are all going to face together. Time is going faster than I can believe and that's what I'm afraid of, not Vegeta. We need him Yamcha." Her tone softened considerably with her last sentence.

He groaned with her last words and he knew she was right. "Okay Bulma. I'll shut up, I'm sorry I put you in that situation. I'm a total idiot."

"Yes you are." She replied with a smile, relieved beyond belief that this horrible conversation was coming to an amicable end.

"Ha! But so are you for putting up with me." said Yamcha pulling Bulma into a brief hug. "Your right though, we need to be prepared. I'm gonna take off with Puar for a while and train for a while in the desert. I'll see ya 'round Bulma."

"Bye Yamcha, visit soon and be careful." said Bulma.

"Always am!" replied Yamcha a smile gracing his scarred yet still handsome face for the first time during their whole exchange. He turned abruptly and walked out of the room. Bulma supposed she wouldn't see him again for quite a while, she didn't know why but she had this feeling that there had been certain finality to that conversation. She realized that it wasn't Yamcha's need or wants that were the most important to her anymore but her own. The feeling was empowering and satisfying.

"Well wasn't that a touching interlude."

Bulma's body froze the sound of that deep voice. It pierced right through her pleasant thoughts like a shard of ice. Vegeta. How long had he been listening? How dare he! She turned from facing the door Yamcha had exited from and spun around to the room's other entrance. The Prince of Saiyans stood leaning heavily on the door frame arms typically crossed yet he seemed more relaxed then she had ever seen him.

"Vegeta! What do you think you are doing? How dare you eavesdrop on me!" she screeched at him. She was so furious at the thought that he had seen her defend him to Yamcha she couldn't even think straight.

"What a ridiculous word! I was listening to you and the pathetic weakling because it amused me. The filth that passes for entertainment on this planet has nothing remotely as interesting." said Vegeta, he casually unfolded his arms and walked slowly towards her. He liked the fire and anger he saw in her eyes.

"Whatever Vegeta, I'm not in the mood to argue with you." replied Bulma, she was already emotionally drained from her encounter with Yamcha and just couldn't face an argument with Vegeta also. She abruptly turned away from him and headed towards the same exit Yamcha had used. She was stunned when he had suddenly materialized in front of her. He was standing very close. One step forward and she would have been inches away from him. "What are you doing? Get out of my way!" Vegeta's familiar smirk then crossed his proud features as he promptly ignored her.

"I found the weaklings determination to be rid of me quite laughable. The mere gall of him, to think he has a say in where I go or stay! Then he even goes as far as to threaten to enlist Kakarot to remove me, the most diverting of all." he started to chuckle then, and it sent shivers racing down Bulma's spine.

"You won't hurt him will you?" at the thought of Yamcha being hurt her courage managed to reassert itself. "He was only acting that way because he was worried about me!" she graced him with her best glaring look.

"And why should I bother!" he barked, laughing. The atmosphere abruptly changed and he looked straight into her eyes which had turned suddenly deadly serious. He took one menacing step towards her, his gaze never once leaving hers. "Why should the Prince of all Saiyans lower himself to even consider that weakling a worthy opponent? He disgusts me along with _everyone_ else on this miserable planet!" his voice was even lower than usual. His stare had her rooted to the ground. Tears suddenly beginning to well in her eyes as his last words sunk in. A feeling of despair attached itself to her very bones. They remained that way for a long time. Then suddenly, without knowing really why; only being vaguely aware of the fact she wanted to prove him a liar. She closed the gap on those last remaining few inches of separation; wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her own soft red lips against his, she kissed him hard, tears streaming from her eyes all the while.

The shock from the impact of her lips against his stunned Vegeta to his core. Whatever he was expecting her reaction to be, it certainly wasn't that. Before he could regain control of himself he found that his arms had moved seemingly through their own volition to around Bulma's slender waist pulling her soft pliant body against hard immovable one. The feeling was addictive as his lips began to move against hers. Their lips were joined only briefly before Bulma felt Vegeta's arms leave her waist and move his right hand along the side of her shoulder, brushing exquisitely against her neck, kissing all the while. She shivered at the feeling as his hand then traveled to her face with his fingers coming to a rest on her face cupping her jaw. She had been enjoying the feeling of their bodies touching so much that the force of his hand squeezing her jaw painfully and forcing her lips away from his was instantly jarring. The look he had in his eyes at that moment was terrifying and for the first time since he had lived there with her she ceased fearing for him and began to fear for herself.

His breathing was heavy as he looked at her. "If you ever…. Do that to me again…" to Bulma he seemed to be struggling to find the word to express his anger and disgust with her.

"Come to me with lust and desire filling your eyes….. Not those pathetic tears." He abruptly released her face from his vice like grip and left the room without another word. Bulma sunk to the ground as the meaning of his words descended upon her rubbing her pained face. She didn't know how long she sat there for; trying to make sense of what had happened. She only knew that her actions today were going to have consequences, she just didn't know whether she welcomed or not.

_A/N Hope you all enjoy chapter 2. I am overjoyed with all the views and some great feedback I have received. Please keep the reviews coming. It's what pushes me to keep going! Special shout out to Green integration, smalsa and DB Freak for their amazing encouragement. Plus all my guest reviewers as well!_


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball z or any of these characters. (Although it is fun to have them dance to my bidding as I begin my transformation into crazed puppeteer. *evil face*)

Chapter 3

Vegeta stormed out of the room in determination. The exchange that had just taken place between him and Bulma had disarmed him and he did not like it. The remembrance of her soft body pressed against him and her wet and demanding lips on his caused a shiver to descend down his arms and legs, it was a chill he had ever really felt before the cold feeling left in its wake, not at all unpleasant. He still did not understand how it had occurred. He had entered the recreation room in the firm belief that there would not be anyone there at that time of day. The insufferable blonde would be attending her garden and strange creatures and the old cook spent all his days in his lab tinkering away on some other useless gadget these ridiculous earthlings believed they needed. That only left the daughter. He had noticed that for the last few weeks she had barely left her work and that suited him just fine. The way she had interfered and imposed after the explosion still rankled. How dare she dictate to the prince of all Saiyans! Telling him to stop training and rest; Ha! Rest was not going to help him achieve his goals. Thoughts of surpassing Kakarot and ascending to his rightful place in Saiyan history were all that held his mind together. The overwhelming disgrace and failure that had been the first thirty years of his life would have overwhelmed his sanity by now without it.

The thought of the incident was still fresh in his mind; the woman was becoming a distraction in the extreme. When he heard her and that idiot Yamcha arguing in the exact room he had planned to recline in had halted him in the threshold. The words that had spewed from the fool's worthless mouth had angered him in the extreme when he first heard them and the thought of blasting him into oblivion for his presumption was an appealing one, however it was the voice of the blue haired woman that had stayed his hand. Her vehement defense of him had been amusing and irritating. Some of her words had grated, like the ones where she alluded to some sort of claim or responsibility for him; but those feelings were quickly overtaken by amusement when he had heard just how furious it seemed to make Yamcha. 'Well I think we know now whose company she prefers.' He thought with a leer. Not that he cared at all about her preferences, but knowing how that would affect the pathetic earth male was satisfying. So he had watched and waited out the exchange. After Yamcha had left he had observed the satisfied smile on Bulma's face after her victory and had wanted to take that feeling away from her with his mocking derision. With his carefully aimed verbal barbs he had expected her tears; however he had not expected her kiss.

The feeling that had arrested his body at the touch of her lips had spread throughout his limbs like paralysis temporarily stupefying him. He had never kissed a woman before. He had desired them yes, touched them and had them but never kissed one. And certainly none would have dared to touch the Prince of Saiyans like that and yet she had. Touching him in a way no one else had before. The feeling of her body against his had caused all other thought to dissipate. He realized now that she had caught him unprepared, his guard was down and he had not been with a woman for a very long time. That was the only reason his lips had instinctively moved against hers, enjoying the taste of her lips and the feel of her body against his ungloved hands. He was under a spell of heat and desire that was only broken when against the sweetness of her lips he began to taste a bitter saltiness. The realization that there were tears still spilling from her eyes brought him back to himself with steadying impact. He was aroused from the contact with her and now he was also furious with her. She had approached him and he had allowed the desire he felt take over and now here she was crying still, allowing weakness to govern her rather than calculated action. He refused to take her under those circumstances.

After he had pushed her away his body had instantly felt the loss of the contact, he had stormed from the room so suddenly after their exchange because he could not bear for her to see the evidence of his desire for her. The hard, pulsing irrefutable proof of his weakness, he knew now that he wanted her and would have her but under his terms and control. In the meantime he needed a physical release, and it seemed highly unlikely he would get the sort of one he wanted most so he stalked into his bedroom and pulled on one of the training suits the earthlings had provided. It wasn't of the same quality as he was used to but it would suit his needs for now. Not wanting to encounter anyone by walking through the house Vegeta stepped out of the doors to his balcony and leapt from the edge allowing the familiar and comforting aura of energy surrounding him to propel him through the air like a bullet. He reached the capsule too soon for his liking and began the vicious torment his body would have to endure to rid all thoughts of a blue haired, blue eyed goddess out of his mind. Vegeta had always found her beautiful, any man would; he knew that from their first encounter on Namek, his desperation for victory and obtaining their dragonball had pushed him to the brink of sanity, that along with the heady mix of her beauty and her fear of him had left him wanting her even back then. Although since being brought back to life he had managed to ignore her and her beauty completely as his obsession with achieving Super Saiyan had arrested him once again, but now there was no grand destiny of defeating the tyrant that had taken everything from him awaiting him; only his need to surpass Kakarot. All thoughts of enjoying a beautiful and fiery woman had been overtaken, however Vegeta knew now that with that kiss, the beast had been reawakened.

Bulma had to use the coffee table to steady herself as she began to arise. Her actions and his blunt words had left her reeling. _"Come to me with lust and desire filling your eyes….. Not those pathetic tears." _He certainly didn't mince his words, they were clear; he wanted her. The thought was intoxicating and terrifying. She didn't understand what had made her want to capture his lips at that moment. She assumed it had just been a knee jerk reaction to how upset he had managed to make her. Not many people could say they had the ability to upset Bulma Briefs, many were able to anger or frustrate her but Vegeta's harsh words had caused such a feeling of sadness that hot tears had begun to fall and she couldn't help it. The kiss itself had been divine, he had hesitated at first but she had felt him relax and bring her closer and she knew he had enjoyed the contact. When he had pushed her away it was hurtful and she was terrified of his reaction and yet she still felt power with the knowledge that she had affected him in that moment the same way he had been affecting her for months now.

She walked from the den briskly to the kitchen, she retrieved a tall drinking glass from the cabinet filled it with water from the filter and drained it in one hoping it would cool the heat still pulsing throughout her body. It wasn't enough, she needed a shower. She wished she could go and wash this whole experience from her as easily as she washed her body. Bulma glanced at her watch and saw that it was getting very close to five pm. 'I may as well eat now so I don't have to come back down again' she thought to herself. She quickly rummaged through the fridge and cupboard and began to cook the only thing she knew tasted any good. She began to feel wistful as she remembered the night she cooked the exact same meal for Vegeta, that night she thought he had hurt himself. She went to sleep so happy that night, thinking that they could become friends. Bulma knew now that that particular wish had been naive, nothing that had happened since had led her to believe that it was possible. In fact everything had pointed to the contrary. Vegeta did not want friends; he didn't want emotions or attachments of any kind. He had made that all painfully clear he considered them just as pathetic and abhorrent as the tears she had shed during their kiss. _"But he does want you"._ Bulma was powerless to stop the tempting thought from seeping into her mind.

It certainly seemed to be so; she was under no allusions in regards to the capacity in which he wanted her. He wanted something physical and that was it. There would never be anything more than that between them. The fact that she finally knew where she stood with him was oddly comforting. And large part of her wanted to give him exactly what he wanted. 'Why not?' she thought "We are both adults, people engage themselves in these kinds of relationships all the time. Why shouldn't I take up what he clearly offered?' Bulma knew it would be an encounter to remember, there would be nothing loving or tender about it; just heat and desire and there would never be anything else between them. He was not the man for her and she knew it. Her future was out there waiting but in her present there was a man she would forever regret not bedding. Her mind was made up, she would lock the part of her that cared for him away and would indulge in something she had been imagining for months.

The determination she felt was steadying and invigorating. She finished off the remnants of her meal and left the mess, she would let the bots or her mother deal with it, she didn't really care who found it first. The elevator ride was quick to bring her to her top floor bedroom. Bulma stripped her clothes off as she approached her en'suite, she punched in the commands for a steaming hot bath rather than the shower she had originally wanted to rid her of her desire. The bath would encourage it; she submerged herself in the hot soapy water thoroughly enjoying the warmth. Tonight, it was going to happen tonight….

_A/N Thanks for all the support and reviews guys. I know this chapter is shorter than usual but it's a 'setting the scene' one, you wouldn't want me to get to the good stuff too quickly would you? Please review! It really encourages me to keep going. I'm trying to update as often as possible but unfortunately I don't get as much time to write as I would like. I would especially love your views on my interpretations on B & V's characters. Have I hit it mark? If not, why? Discuss. But most of all ENJOY!_


End file.
